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tv   wusa 9 News at 11pm  CBS  February 15, 2013 1:35am-2:05am EST

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♪ what did we learn on the show tonight, craig? ♪ [meow] [laughter] craig: did you hear the audience aw there just as the monkey went by the -- what is that about? geoff: it is unbelievable, man. craig: you try and do your best and people come here and aw and santa is up there like some cranky old bastard. i'm trying to do my job. it is very hard to concentrate tonight. geoff: i don't know where you got these indifferent nabling pot smoking vegetarians. craig: this is my family, geoff. good night, everybody.
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looks like the nightmare aboard the triumph is finally over. in some breaking news tonight that cruise ship has finally docked. this is a live picture on your screen out of mobile, alabama. it arrived at the port about 35 minutes ago but it is going to be a very long time before
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everybody is off that ship. triumph was carrying 3,000 passengers and 1,000 crew members. over the weekend a fire knocked tout power and people on board say it it has been miserable ever since. >> the really bad part was that there was no running water and toilets for almost the first 30 hours. once they finally did get running water, the toilets only worked in certain places. i would say it's the worst smell imaginable. >> it's a smell we don't want to have to imagine. carnival has arranged for buses to carry those passengers to hotels in new orleans, houston, and galveston. no doubt these people are ready for a shower and a good night's sleep. carnival is giving screever bed on board a full refund, a et credit towards future cruises
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and $500 cash. and the next 12 cruises on this ship have been canceled while it undergoes repairs and a major cleanup. the ceo of carnival spoke a few minutes ago. ken molestina is in our set center with more. >> reporter: we want to remind our folks at home this is a fluid situation. we've been here in the satellite center monitoring details out of mobile. let's take you back out there live right now and give you a presence, a sense of exactly what is going on there. once again, this is carnival triumph. once again, it made it to port about 30 minutes ago, ahead of schedule, i will tell you. we were expecting the ship to make it sometime between 11:00 and 12:00, but a lot of jubilation there, a lot of excitement for these passengers who have been anxious to get off of this ship and to end this nightmare that they've been having to deal with. let's talk now more about what the ceo had to say earlier
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tonight. he issued a huge apology. folks, take a listen. >> i'd like to reiterate the apology i made earlier. i know the conditions on board were very poor. i know it was a very difficult, and i want to apologize again for subjecting our guests to. that we pride ourselves in providing our guests with a great vacation experience, and clearly we failed in this particular case. >> and as part of this apology carnival cruise lines offering a full refund to all of their passengers, a voucher for a future cruise and $500 in cash. again, a live look at the port in mobile, alabama. the majority of those passengers we're told at this hour are still on the ship. we're told that now the task of getting them to de bark will begin. that's expected to take several hours. as you would imagine, the folks who have first priority are going to be the elderly and the sir, those who need to get off. we are hearing that right now
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the beginning of the de- embarkation process. and lesli, i was aboard this ship in 2004 so i will tell you just as a personal anecdote, it is a massive ship. as you can imagine, people are still very anxious but there has to be some kind of order for these folks to get off this ship. we're going keep a very close eye on this and on all of the developments out of mobile. i want to know what you think. follow this story on twitter. kenw usa 9 is my handle. >> the difference back when you rode, you probably didn't want to get off. these folks can't wait to get off and they've got hours to go. kenny, we'll check with you in just a bit. in other news, video of police returning to the scene of a murder in alexandria. they spent the evening dusting for fingerprints. last night a relative found 94-
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year-old elmer joe rohr dead inside of his home. his home was broken into back in november, and this morning a 45-year-old woman was arrested for that crime but she has not been charged with any crime related to his murder. well, it's official. the burned remains found in a california mountain cabin have been positively identified as fugitive ex cop christopher dorner. there was a chase, he barricaded himself in a cabin. a gunfight ensued, and one officer was killed. hours later that whole cabin went up in flames. we are now just two weeks away from those dreaded sequestration cuts that are scheduled to go into effect causing hundreds of thousands of federal workers to go on furlough or lose their jobs, which, of course, creates a ripple effect in this area that will put unknown thousands of other people out of a job.
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we've told you about all kinds of plans out there. today, hill democrats offered theirs, and gary nurenberg is here. >> reporter: you will remember when the white house and congressional republicans could not agree on a debt ceiling deal, the obama administration proposed what was known at the time as a compulsory trigger to force spending cuts if both sides couldn't agree on a deficit reduction plan. it was meant to be so awful that no one would let it happen. hill republicans essential signed off. the president signed it. both sides guessed these automatic across the board spending cuts we've now come to know as sequestration. the new deadline for the cuts is the end of the month. and there is no deal to stop it. we keep hearing how bad it will be. one day a weak furloughs for up to 800,000 civilian pentagon employees. friday the navy is expected to announce it will postpone the repair of almost two dozen ships, threatening tens of thousands of jobs in virginia alone. and those repairs? >> if we don't do that, we are
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sending a ship out in harm's way that may not be as fit to fate as it should be. >> so here's how we avoid it. >> reporter: virginia's tim kaine is among senate democrats proposing an alternative, a $120 billion deficit reduction plan half in spending cuts split between defense and non- defense, much coming from tell limb nation of farm subsidies, and half in new taxes. >> as you know, the speaker has said president obama has received his revenue he is not going to get any more. >> if republicans say there will never be another dollar of revenue and democrats say there will never be another dollar of cut, then we're not going to solve the problem. >> another way for washington to kick the can down the road. it's funny that every time washington is just about to actually cut spending, somebody wants to postpone it and to raise taxes. >> reporter: the conservative group freedom works says the harm of sequestration cuts has
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been everystated. >> in fact, it will be less than the amount that congress just spent on one bill, the sandy hurricane bill. so the odds are very good that nobody is even going to notice that's changes. >> reporter: local business leaders disagree, staying impact in the washington area would be huge if there is a deal. they can sphopt there's not. as lesli said, it happens in two weeks. lesli. >> all right, gary, thank you. do you think congress should to have take a pay cut or be furloughed? if and when federal workers take their furloughs? one wusa 9 viewer suggested congress, quote, get a taste of their own medicine. you can give them a chance to let them know what you think. we posted a position on the bottom of our website, wusa9.com. you can go there and we will make sure your let ser sent to your representative and senator. you know, when you see those gross things that investigative reporter russ
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ptacek finds, do you ever wonder how your own favorite restaurants stands up? now for the first time maryland joins virginia and d.c. with an on-line database. tonight russ shows you how to be the investigator. >> reporter: you're looking at d.c.'s on-line inspection database. you can just ignore this log-in information, enter your restaurant's name right there, or if you want to see them all, leave the restaurant name blank and just click search from. snack stands to liquor stores, newsstands, pools, churches, mark and restaurants, they're all in there. just click restaurant. you can see this one had 10 veil laitionz in july, and when you scroll down, lucy rodent droppings and the other citations described. this is the site for all of virginia's restaurants. click this area like arlington, and once you click restaurant inspection, you can search by name or street names, like wilson. you can click on the restaurant name and immediately see this
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one got 16 violations in the last inspection. open the inspection to see the details here including cheese stored at 46 degrees. too warm and a risk for food- born illness. but this is the big news. montgomery county has finally entered 2013, and the digital age with their own database, with restaurant inspections galore. it automatically opens with every restaurant in the county, or here you can enter your favorite restaurant's name. it spits out every inspection over the past two years. scroll to the right and you can see where they were out of compliance. keep scroacialtion and you can see whether they were closed. now to make this easy for you, we've got all this on-line at wusa9.com. i'm investigative reporter russ ptacek, wusa 9. screw still ahead, driving while texting gets an innocent young man killed. and wait until you hear about the meager penalty. it's enough to drive you mad.
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and you are looking live at that time crippled cruise ship that finally limped into port. triumph did triumph tonight. we've got to tell you about this, the update for those poor passengers trying to actually get off the ship. we'll have that and more coming up after the break. top. we hit 50 today, lesli, pretty nice. here's your wake-up weather. you are going to need a coat, umbrella. chilly start, 30s. 7:00, dry commute. just cool at 9:00, temperatures 40 that 45. we're tracking arctic air, we're tracking some snow. not just one chance but tw
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we're continuing to follow the arrival of the cruise ship triumph in mobile, alabama. it has been a long, smelly journey for thousands of people on board the cruise ship. the ship arrived at the dock around 10:22, sort of limping its way in there.
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kenny mole molestina is in the stat center. you were actually on this boat a few years ago. >> reporter: that's right, lesli. when we talk about the size of this ship, it is huge. we'll talk about that in a second. let's bring you live to these pictures. folks, you are getting a live look right now at the first passengers right now getting off of the triumph. take a look at this. you can see if you can look closely you can see some smiles on their faces, people take pictures. there's that one woman p. i'm sure many of them on their phones trying to get ahold of their loved ones and their friends who are anxiously awaiting them at the port in mobile. these folks have had to go through hell, as we've mentioned. it is finally over. folks once again a live look right now at the first group of passengers that are being let off of this ship. i can tell you personally from my experiences on the triumph,
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that this is a process that is going to take several hours. hat to be done orderly despite the anxieties of the passenger and the crew and everyone who, quite frankly, wants this to be order. it needs to be done in an orderly fashion and that will take several hours. these are the first group of people, the first group of passengers that are getting off right now. of course, for many of them, this couldn't have come too soon. let's go ahead and show you video what it looked like earlier tonight as the ship was docking there at the port of mobile. you can see the folks there at the top of the ship holding signs and folks just, again, waiting to get off of this ship. many of them excited to be seeing their families down there, their first glimpse of the port of dryland. but again, once again, these folks are now beginning to get off the ship.
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the disembarkation process can take several hours. they will be boarding buses to take them to either houston, new orleans, or galveston. it's up to them where they want to go. we're going keep a close eye. a very active night for us. we are going to be bringing you all of these images so stay with us throughout the newscast. follow me on twitter. i want to hear your thoughts. >> kenny, several hours to get off of this ship. and then seven hours, if they want to take the bus to galveston or houston, and then two hours if they want to get to new orleans. so it is going to be tomorrow before most of them get off this ship and get to where they're going. boy, i bet they've never been so happy to see dryland. >> that's assuming that they live in new orleans, gavel stop, or houston. who knows, there may be some folks that we find are coming back to the washington metro area. and that will be more time, maybe another day before they get officiallily back home. >> all right, kenny, we'll keep
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an eye on that ship. thank you. now to another story that may really touch a nerve, especially if you are annoyed by people who text and drive. a fairfax county teen was killed by a man sending and receiving messages on his cell phone. that was back in 2011, while he was driving. yet he received no punishment. none. as andrea mccarren reports, the tragedy has led to a virginia law that is now pending. >> i will never be as happy as i was, ever again. >> in a matter of seconds, kyle went from beg a 19-year-old college student with so much to live for. >> really tough. >> to an abrupt and violent death. >> you don't come back from something like this. >> driving home from his summer job in 2011, kyle's car ran out of gas. he turned on his hazardses and tried to punter off the road. >> losing a son is the worst
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thing. >> cell phone records revealed that a driver right behind him sent and received multiple text messages right up until the crash. he plowed into kyle, killing him instantly. >> he wasn't drinking anything, but did he not apply the brakes or swerve. he just plowed straight into him without any defensive action. >> the rowleys' nightmare was about to get worse. >> it was unbelievable to learn that it was a secondary offense and a $25 fine. it was just a pathetic miscarriage of justice. >> as a secondary offense in virginia, police can only charge drivers who are texting if they've pulled them over for something else. texting while driving is already a primary offense in maryland and d.c. one study found that drivers who text are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash. >> i was floored. i couldn't believe it.
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i mean, we talked to so many people who said if you lived in new york, this would have been murder. you hit somebody, you kill somebody. end of story. >> reporter: driver was injured in the crash and said he didn't remember anything. now the virginia general assembly has a law that's now pending which makes texting and driving a primary offense with a mandatory fine of $250. but it won't bring back kyle, whose little sister is left without a sibling. >> that's hard, like when people ask if you have siblings, because like i never really know what to say. >> reporter: so next time you reach for your phone while you're driving, think of kyle, and the text message that can wait. >> right after kyle died, i was so angry, i mean, if you look to your left, you look to your right, you are going to see somebody texting. i even saw somebody with their whole ipad on their lap. >> he was a good brother. he was funny and really nice to me and stuff, and i miss that. >> as time goes on, i feel more
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sad for him, not the end. >> reporter: an agree i can't mccain, wusa 9. >> if virginia's texting and driving bill does become law as is expected, would it go into effect on july 1st. the rowleys see is it as a step in the right direction, but they hope for even tougher penalties, including jail time. only four states in this country, including virginia, consider texting while driving a secondary offense. for a breakdown of the laws by state, check tout chart we've posted on our website. just go to wusa 9.com. so if we liked today, then maybe we'll like tomorrow, and then we're going to have to bundle up. >> exactly. tomorrow, in fact, may be milder. 50 today. i think we're looking at mid- 50s tomorrow before the arctic air rolls in. i think we're going to see some snow. the question is will it accumulate tomorrow knit and saturday. let's start with a live look outside. temperatures are not falling
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off the table. down to 40 at national. dew point in the low 30s. humidity 70%. not really a very cold or dry air mass considering we are in the middle of february. winds out of the south at 9. these winds will pick up later tonight. certainly tomorrow, southwest winds will drive up that milder air. here's a look at the satellite and radar combined. here's our little system. pretty innocuous right now. it swings through kentucky and tennessee, then swings back up to the north and east, essential right along the front. so we are going to see rain showers at first with temperatures in the 50s, then i think the rain showers will turn to show showers as we get into tomorrow night. the best chance for snow showers with this system will be late tomorrow night and early on saturday. there is still a chance another storm could develop saturday morning and give us a chance of snow showers saturday into sunday. so we have some chances. just nothing looks perfect just yet. here's a look at the satellite picture close in. we have clear skies for the time being. a few clouds come in later on. so we have some good news.
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dry morning commute p. wet evening commute with showers. snow showers possible friday night. weekend snow showers possible across the board saturday, even into sunday as we we have two little disturbances to watch. overnight partly cloudy, breezy. lows in the 30s. winds will increase, south- southwest at 10 to 15. by morning, probably the better part of the day, 30s and 40s, partly sunny, breezy and cool. bring a coat because it is going to be mild tomorrow, but you are going to need that coat tomorrow night. winds southwest 10 to 15. by afternoon, here come the showers. mostly cloudy but breezy and milder. highs near 55 as winds southwest 10 to 15. they will become northwest 10 to 15 by evening, and that's when you know the arctic air is going to roll in. so the next three day, spring to winter tomorrow. rain to snow showers. still snow showers possible saturday. highs in the upper 30s. some snow showers still possible on sunday. temperatures struggle to get into the low 30s. next seven days, very nice president's day. sunshine, temperatures in the mid-40s.
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some rain on tuesday, 48. we keep backing the temperatures down, but still it is going to be rain. wednesday and thursday pretty nice. sunshine, temperatures in the sunshine, temperatures in the mid hey anon!! i'm b,e lk ath taste... i d urax. i thghyowe aaxxpt? majotastesdvti foprars toy,'m mteplbe withnoaxxpiee necear" aturta y oy taner frompa e otaatrns- l alaxxpts ..hah&blk or a alotr jotastes
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the nationals bryce harper caused quite a stir in vie era. the youngster showed up bigger than we last saw him but in a good way, weighing a tone 230 pounds. dave owens is in florida. >> reporter: all the bragging i was doing yesterday finally caught up with me. mostly rain here in viera today but the show must go on. our first look at bryce harper. of course when he talks, people listen. and we did. here now bryce harper on brace harper and a lot of other subjects as well. >> taking in the big leagues. it is not going do anything different. it's been my game.
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like i said, we have a great team, a great 2k3wr507 of guys around me, help me out. it is going to be a lot of fun. this is always going to be a great team. we've got great players, great managers, great coaches. so it's going to be fun. expectations are really high. i don't know if it's world series or bust. it's like a second family. really come out here, have some fun, get ready, just get ready for spring. >> reporter: tomorrow position players have to report. much more then. for now, -- >> dave, thanks so much. time to announce our high school game of the week. bell and montrose
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